The present invention is directed to the field of water craft. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a sit-in kayak.
Kayaking has become increasingly popular, spurred to a significant degree, by the reduction in cost associated with plastic molded sit-on and sit-in kayaks. It is the object of the present invention to provide a sit-in kayak with enhanced features including multiple shock-absorbent foot rests and wave breakers which significantly reduce the amount of water from waves breaking over the bow which finds its way into the passenger compartment. The same indentations in the bow provide the dual function of forming both the footrests and wave breakers. The foot rests, in conjunction with a significant slope on the rear half of the seat, enable the paddler to get significant leverage with each stroke.
The sit-in molded kayak of the present invention includes a) a hull; b) a deck having a bow portion, an aft portion, and a central opening into a passenger compartment, the bow portion having a plurality of wave-breaking channels extending entirely across the bow portion, each of the channels having a first forward-most central section, and second and third sections which angle outwardly aft around the central opening; whereby when waves break over the bow portion, the wave-breaking channels captivate water from the waves and channel the water around the central opening.
The kayak further includes a plurality of footrests integrally molded into the bow portion, each foot rest including a forward directed surface and an aft directed surface, the aft directed surface receiving a toe and ball-of-the-foot portion of a kayaker's foot. The plurality of footrests are formed in pairs, one on a right side of the kayak and one on a left side of the kayak. Most preferably, each of the footrests is an underneath portion of one of the second and third sections of said wave-breaking channels. The kayak has a contoured seat molded in the passenger compartment, the contoured molded seat having a downwardly sloping, rearwardly directed portion, whereby a combination of the footrests and the downwardly sloping, rearwardly directed portion increase leverage available during paddling. Also, it is preferred that the sit-in molded kayak be integrally molded as a single piece.
Various other features, advantages, and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent after a reading of the following detailed description.